Top global event organizers convene in Tianjin to explore cooperation opportunities in China

The 20th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation (CEFCO) kicked off in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday, bringing together industry professionals from across the world to discuss the future of the global exhibition industry and explore opportunities for international cooperation and sustainable development.

Themed "Empowering a Sustainable Future with New Quality Productive Forces," the three-day forum has attracted over 600 industry professionals from 20 countries and regions, including China, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with participants sharing insights and discussing the future prospects of the global exhibition industry.

In interviews with China Global Television Network (CGTN), leading event organizers from around the globe highlighted that the vast opportunities presented by the Chinese market continue to draw them back to the country, stressing the significant appeal and potential of the exhibition industry.

"A lot of international exhibition companies came to CEFCO, came to China. And they brought us a lot of very international industrial exhibitions [which] widened our eyesight," said Lin Shunjie, Chairman of the China International Exhibition Center Group.

"We are here supporting it since the beginning back in Beijing in 2005. Over the last three years, I think that there are more international participants. So, it's a good way to mix and match Chinese stakeholders with international stakeholders," stated Adeline Vancauwelaert, COO of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI).

Michael Kruppe, General Manager of Shanghai New International Expo Center also emphasized that CEFCO has played a significant role in boosting the exhibition economy and creating a ripple effect that supports broader economic development.

"So, now we have what we call an economic factor. For example, our exhibitions have a factor of 12 to 1. So, one RMB spent in my venue, gives the city of Shanghai 12 RMB. Because you have visitors, they go to restaurants, they take trains, they go to catering. When an exhibition is not happening, all these revenues are not existing. And that is why I think that CEFCO and government involvement becomes more and more important. And that's also why we as stakeholders are looking for closer relations with the government and with CEFCO," said Kruppe.

Since its inception in 2005, the CEFCO has been held in various cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Macao. It has attracted tens of thousands of exhibition industry professionals from over 30 countries and regions, facilitated the launch of numerous high-quality exhibition projects, and played an important role in fostering cooperation between China's exhibition sector and its international counterparts.

Top global event organizers convene in Tianjin to explore cooperation opportunities in China

The universal "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States signals a decline in the U.S. economic dominance and dollar hegemony, as the country is attempting to extract excessive financial benefits from its trading partners, according to economists, who warn the Trump administration is playing a "dangerous game".

U.S. President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" before unveiling higher rates on certain trading partners. The policy sent shockwaves throughout the global economy and triggered panic on financial markets, with analysts warning of significant risks and dire economic consequences.

In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Hong Hao, chief economist of the GROW Investment Group, a Shanghai-based hedge fund, said the tariffs reflect Trump's strategy to extract economic benefits from trading partners, particularly viewing China as a significant competitor. "Trump really believes that the trade terms with the trading partners have been unfair to the U.S., and as a result, the U.S. manufacturing sector has been hollowed out. Therefore, the U.S. is paying an excessive price for globalization, and now, it's time to pay back. I think, from this angle, he is trying to extract economic rent from its trading partners, and also he is trying to see China as one of the major U.S. rivals at this juncture. So, I think, as a result, he is playing a very dangerous game. And, as you can see, it's political theater in the sense that he is trying to dramatize the extreme pressure, so that he can get excessive rent from the opponent," he said

Trump's unilateral imposition of tariffs has eroded global confidence in the U.S. and its dollar's status, leading many to state that the American hegemony may not persist, according to Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University.

"The U.S. economy is at an inflection point. There is a moment where the previous strategies being used to sustain American hegemony were no longer working. And, it's only a matter of time before the U.S. position erodes, given the fact that it's been a house of cards built on the dollar supremacy. And a lot of people don't see that as having a brighter future. This has moved past the theater stage and has moved really directly into one in which no one really has confidence in the U.S. anymore. No one has confidence in the dollar. No one has confidence in the U.S. being committed to the multilateral system, to global trade and so forth and so on," he said.

Trump playing "dangerous game" as tariff measures signal decline in U.S. dollar hegemony: economists